fifty sokeefe kisses

(35) hand

"This should not be taking so long."

Keefe shushed her impatiently. "These things take time."

He continued to browse the boutique's endless array of hair products. Sophie didn't even know what half of these were supposed to do, let alone what they were. She didn't think a store could ever come up with so many different products to have on display, but the Lost Cities never failed to impress.

She picked one up and read the ingredient label on the back. "Ew, this has yeti pee in it?"

"Yeti pee has many beneficial skincare properties when used in the right amount." Keefe plucked the bottle from her hand. "This one's a face mask—I might get it, actually."

She shuddered, recalling the many showers she'd had to take last time to get rid of the pungent odor. "Please don't."

"Would you prefer I smell like..." Keefe popped open a different bottle and held it up to her nose. "... Crocodile tears?"

Sophie gave it a tentative sniff. "That doesn't smell like anything."

"Exactly. It's conceptual." He grinned.

She rolled her eyes, but had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. They were supposed to be looking for gifts for the upcoming midterms, but it had somehow spiraled into Keefe's own personal shopping spree. Not that Sophie minded a lot. He was probably the only person who could keep her entertained while out shopping in Atlantis.

Sophie heard someone say her name. She turned and spotted a group of elves, probably no older than Fitz, standing at the end of the aisle, murmuring to each other in low voices—not loud enough to be heard, but enough for her to make out certain words. Forbidden Cities. Black Swan. Human. It was clear enough they were talking about her.

A little bubble of self-consciousness formed in Sophie's mind. Years into her residence in the Lost Cities, she was used to being gawked at, glared at, and even revered by other elves, but she was never quite able to adjust to her semi-celebrity status. The whispers and stares that follow her wherever she went only served as a reminder that she was still considered other.

Oblivious to her spiraling thoughts, Keefe grabbed her hand and began leading her further through the aisles of hair and beauty products. His eyes lit up as he caught sight of something.

"Look! They restocked the unicorn conditioners!" he exclaimed.

Sophie blinked. "Do they have... unicorn in them?"

"Don't be silly, Foster," Keefe scoffed as he examined the rainbow bottle in his hands. "It's the conditioner they use on unicorns."

"Right, of course." Sophie pictured her boyfriend with a silky unicorn mane and snorted. She was about to bring it up when she heard the bits and pieces of conversation behind them again.

"That's her... brown eyes..."

"... five abilities... Council's pet... "

"... with the Sencen kid."

She pretended she didn't hear them, but Keefe immediately picked up on her change in mood. "You okay?" he asked quietly as he lifted their clasped hands to kiss the back of hers.

"It's nothing," she answered, squeezing his hand in reassurance.

He stared at her a heartbeat longer, then peeked over their shoulders. The group of kids that had been hovering behind them fell quiet and looked away sheepishly.

Sophie and Keefe exchanged a glance. A smirk started to form on his lips, and then a giggle bubbled out of him.

"Shh! Stop it!" she scolded, but they ended up laughing together anyway, shushing each other as they fought to keep quiet in the busy store. The self-consciousness she'd felt a moment ago faded away, and the whole situation began to feel ridiculous instead—just another funny story to tell their friends later.

Keefe picked out a large bottle of conditioner and they headed to the front to pay. On their way out, they caught the eye of a pair of shoppers entering the store, who stared at Sophie and Keefe with wide-eyed recognition.

Sophie barely noticed them as she leaned over to give Keefe a kiss on the cheek.